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Dimers of the N-terminal domain of phytochrome B are functional in the nucleus

Nature volume 424, pages 571–574 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

A plant modulates its developmental processes in response to light by several informational photoreceptors such as phytochrome. Phytochrome is a dimeric chromoprotein which regulates various aspects of plant development from seed germination to flowering1. Upon absorption of red light, phytochrome translocates from the cytoplasm to the nucleus2,3,4, and regulates gene expression through interaction with transcription factors such as PIF3 (refs 5–7). The phytochrome polypeptide has two domains1,8: the amino-terminal photosensory domain with a chromophore and the carboxy-terminal domain which contains signalling motifs such as a kinase domain9. The latter is widely believed to transduce the signal to downstream components1,5,8,9,10. Here we show that the C-terminal domain of Arabidopsis phytochrome B (phyB), which is known as the most important member of the phytochrome family1, is not directly involved in signal transduction. The N-terminal domain isolated from phyB, when dimerized and localized in the nucleus, triggered full phyB responses with much higher photosensitivity than the full-length phyB. These findings indicate that the C-terminal domain attenuates the activity of phyB rather than positively transducing the signal.

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Figure 1: Subcellular localization and biological activity of the N- and C-terminal domains of phyB.
Figure 2: Signalling activity of the N-terminal domain of phyB in the nucleus.
Figure 3: NG-GUS-NLS can trigger various phyB responses.
Figure 4: The G767/R mutation impairs accumulation of phyB to nucleus.
Figure 5: Model of the action of phyB and NG-GUS-NLS in the cell.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Kaihara, R. W. Ridge and T. Takeyama for critical reading of the manuscript; R. Tsugeki for providing GUS clone; and laboratory members for support and discussion. This work was supported by grants from the Program for Promotion of Basic Research Activities for Innovative Biosciences and from Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology from the Science and Technology Agency and by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) and for Scientific Research on Priority Areas from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan.

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  1. Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, 606-8502, Kyoto, Japan

    Tomonao Matsushita, Nobuyoshi Mochizuki & Akira Nagatani

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  1. Tomonao Matsushita
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  3. Akira Nagatani
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Correspondence to Akira Nagatani.

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Matsushita, T., Mochizuki, N. & Nagatani, A. Dimers of the N-terminal domain of phytochrome B are functional in the nucleus. Nature 424, 571–574 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01837

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